Home prices go up, inventory drops

Home prices in the Victor Valley bounced back up 3.1 percent in April compared to the previous month, as inventory of available homes continues to drop.

The average price for the 412 homes sold in April was $61.22 per square foot, according to Victor Valley Multiple Listing Service data compiled by Larry Trombley of Century 21 Rose Realty in Hesperia. The average home sold in the desert cost $118,406.

"After all the down markets, it's kind of nice to see a 3-percent pop in a month," Trombley said.

The number of April home sales dropped 5.1 percent from the previous month and 14.3 percent compared to the same month last year. But that may be due to a decline in inventory, which decreased 18.1 percent in April and more than 40 percent over a year, according to Trombley.

"Our inventory has been shrinking dramatically over the last 90 days," said Caroll Yule, owner of Shear Realty. "We are seeing increasing activity and multiple offers on anything under $200,000."

Yule wouldn't call it a trend because it's happened over a short period of time. Last year, home sales increased due to tax incentives, but the number dropped when the incentives expired.

This time, however, there aren't same tax incentives. Yule thinks historic-low mortgage rates and recovery of consumer confidence contributed to increased activities in the market.

"I think people are feeling that this is the bottom," she said.

There was a fear in the real estate market that they would experience another wave of foreclosures if banks begin to crack down on delinquent borrowers. But newly started foreclosures in March remained 31 percent lower than last year, according to data released by Lender Processing Services.

"Banks are working harder on keeping people in their homes," Yule said. "The whole foreclosure process has slowed down because lenders are being more careful about the process."

Trombley's April figures reflect sales occurring from about Feb. 15 through March 15 because the average escrow takes about 45 days.

Tomoya Shimura may be reached at (760) 955-5368 or TShimura@VVDailyPress.com. Follow Tomoya on Facebook at facebook.com/ShimuraTomoya.

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